I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rack for carrying articles on a seat of a vehicle, and more particularly, the invention relates to a rack which is suitable for transporting food on a horizontal plane on the seat of a vehicle.
II. Description of the Prior Art
It is frequently desirable to carry items which must be maintained on a horizontal plane, such as food or liquid, in vehicles such as automobiles. Typically, these items are carried on the floor because the seats of automobiles generally slope downwardly from front to back. However, the floor of many vehicles or the vertical clearance above the floor is too small to permit transportation of large items such as cakes or pizza boxes. This is particularly a problem in the restaurant business where food is delivered to the home or office. The food delivery is frequently made by delivery persons who utilize their own vehicles. Because food, such as pizza, is hot when it leaves the restaurant, it must be maintained on a generally horizontal plane during delivery or a portion of the food will run or slide during delivery. This results in a product which is unsalable when it arrives at the delivery point.
Trays which are hung on seat backs of automobiles, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,006 to Finger, are known. Finger discloses a device having a pair of brackets which extend over the seat back to support a pair of foldable trays. The trays fold down for supporting refreshments.
Likewise, Fenn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,751, discloses a vehicle utility console which has a rectangular frame having two separate compartment cavities and an upstanding flange at the rear end of the frame to engage a seat belt and secure the console to a seat. The console is suitable for carrying small items within the cavities.
Hollins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,994, discloses a platform which extends slightly into a crevice between the front seat and the front seat back of a vehicle for carrying goods such as grocery bags. A strap is provided which is looped about the passenger head restraint to maintain all but the rear portion of the platform above the front seat so that packages may be placed on the platform without contacting the front seat to effect the motor vehicle ignition starter interlock system.
Goings, U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,445, discloses a car seat tray of the type used in drive-in restaurants and the like for serving food or beverages. The seat tray has a plurality of circular openings for reception of cups and bottles and a rectangular opening for reception of food. A rear wall portion extends downwardly from the rear of the tray to support the tray in a generally horizontal position on the seat.
Racks for supporting objects on seats are also known which have a downward extending L-shaped flange at one side of a support surface. The L-shaped flange has one end portion which extends parallel to the support surface to extend into the crevice of a seat to hold the tray in position.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a simple and inexpensive device for transporting large food items and which is suitable for use in a variety of delivery vehicles having differently shaped seats.